Quest Of a Medicine Cat
by Night-MoonEyes
Summary: The clans have had peace for moons, but now is a time for death. A deadly disease has gradually killed off the clans and it seems that nothing can stop it. A clan cat is born into this and understands personally the mess the disease can cause. She wants to stop this, but can she defeat the raging monster that has killed off hundreds of cats?
1. Allegiances

_**Allegiances**_

ShadowClan

Leader: Blazestar - Orange tom with yellow eyes

Deputy: Nettlewatcher - Brown tabby she-cat with hazel eyes

Apprentice: Dewpaw

Medicine Cat: Sorrelpelt - Tortoiseshell and white she-cat with fern green eyes

Apprentice: Nightpaw

Warriors:

Crowfang - White tom with black muzzle and paws; brown eyes

Sunfur - Blonde coloured tom with blue eyes

Rainstorm - Pale blue-grey she-cat with grey eyes

Duskheart - Black she-cat with dark blue eyes

Maplestripe - Ginger she-cat with darker stripes, hazel eyes

Apprentice: Pinepaw

Wolfspots - Dark grey tom with darker flecks, light green eyes

Redpelt - Dark red tom with brown eyes

Goosenose - Fluffy white tom with hazel eyes, originally from RiverClan

Mudskip - Brown tom with darker flecks, light blue eyes

Apprentice: Badgerpaw

Owlfur - Light brown she-cat with yellow eyes

Shadepelt - Smoky grey tom with amber eyes

Apprentices:

Nightpaw - Dark red she-cat with black paws, tail tip, muzzle, and chest, green eyes

Pinepaw - Dark ginger tom with thick fur, green eyes

Dewpaw - Grey tabby she-cat with brown eyes

Badgerpaw - Black and white tom with dark brown eyes

Queens:

Hawkwing - Dark brown she-cat with green eyes

Mother of Wolfspot's kits

Ravenkit - Black she-kit with unusual purple eyes

Mousekit - Grey she-kit with green eyes

Dawnmist - Tortoiseshell she-cat with brown chest, sea mist eyes (Mother of Sunfur's kits)

Sandkit - Blonde coloured tom with green eyes

Mistykit - Brown and white she-cat with misty eyes

Alderkit - Dark red tom with blue eyes

Ivyheart - Light red she-cat with grey chest, green eyes (Crowfang's mate, Permanent Queen)

 **RiverClan**

 **Leader: Icestar - White tom with icy blue eyes**

 **Deputy: Beechnose - Brown tom with yellow eyes**

 **Medicine Cat: Lightningeyes - Brown tabby tom with electrifying yellow eyes**

 **Apprentice: Flypaw**

 **Warriors:**

 **Mossgaze - Brown tabby she-cat with green eyes**

 **Breezefur - Light grey tom with orange eyes**

 **Blossompelt - White, red, and brown she-cat with light blue eyes**

 **Deerpelt - Brown she-cat with white splotches, sunset orange eyes**

 **Falconclaw - Large brown tom with huge claws, green eyes**

 **Apprentice: Foxpaw**

 **Cloudfoot - Light grey tom with white paws, dark blue eyes**

 **Apprentice: Duskpaw**

 **Fishpelt - Handsome blue-grey tom with yellow eyes**

 **Apprentices:**

 **Duskpaw - Greyish-black she-cat with green and blue eyes**

 **Foxpaw - Red tom with white chest, slender light green eyes**

 **Flypaw - Black tom with orange eyes**

 **Queens:**

 **Cloverpelt - Brown she-cat with darker flecks, dark green eyes (Mother of Falconclaw's Kits)**

 **Harekit - Brown tom with mixed blue and green eyes**

 **Elders:**

 **Shinepelt - Light yellow she-cat with pale blue eyes, partially deaf**

ThunderClan

Leader: Lightstar - Pale yellow she-cat with orange eyes

Deputy: Owlleaf - Speckled white and brown she-cat with cool gray eyes

Medicine Cat: Beepelt - Orange and yellow tom with darker stripes, green eyes

Apprentice: Willowpelt - Gray tabby she-cat with dark green eyes

Apprentice: Daisypaw

Warriors:

Stormbreeze - Grey she-cat with dark blue eyes

Raccontail - Brown tom with dark stripes around tail, pale green eyes

Robinstreak - Red she-cat with darker chest, light blue eyes

Apprentice: Lionpaw

Flamefur - Ginger tom with yellow eyes

Tatteredear - Black tom with clawed ears, dark yellow eyes

Apprentices:

Lionpaw - Dark yellow tom with green eyes

Daisypaw - Cream colored she-cat with green eyes

Queens:

Batberry - Black she-cat with mixed blue and purple eyes (Mother Of Raccontail's kits)

Briarkit - Brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Pigeonkit - White tom with brown eyes

Elders:

Rockpelt - Dark grey tom with very light blue eyes

 **WindClan**

 **Leader: Swiftstar - Grey tabby tom with brown eyes**

 **Deputy: Rosefoot - Red she-cat with pale pink paws, chest, and tail tip; blue eyes**

 **Medicine Cat: Mudfang - Brown tom with blue eyes**

 **Warriors:**

 **Swantail - White she-cat with light green eyes**

 **Pinepelt - Light brown tom with pale yellow eyes**

 **Spottedboar - Brown tom with darker spots**

 **Smokefur - Dark grey tom with brown eyes**

 **Squirrelfrost - Dark red she-cat with icy blue eyes**

 **Hazelwing - Light brown she-cat with green eyes**

 **Foxeye - Ginger tom with white chest and one scratched out eye, one pale green eye**

 **Snailfur - Brown tabby tom with green eyes**

 **Apprentices:**

 **Flypaw - Tortoiseshell she-cat with bright gray eyes**

 **Beechpaw - Blonde coloured tom with blue eyes**

 **Queens:**

 **Ambersky - Red-black she-cat with dark blue eyes (Mate: Snailfur)**

 **Littlebird - Lithe grey she-cat with cool green eyes (Mother of Foxeye's kits)**

 **Darkkit - Black tom with cool green eyes**

 **Rainkit - Blue-gray she-kit with yellow eyes**

Loners/Kittypets/Rogues:

Toffy - Fluffy brown and white she-cat with blue eyes (Kittypet)

Scar - Unruly black tom with multiple scars, amber eyes (Rogue)

Green - Black she-cat with dazzling green eyes (Rogue)

Casper - Ghostly white tom with grey eyes (Rogue)

Ash - Smokey grey she-cat with yellow eyes (Rogue)

Leo - Light blonde tom with blue eyes (Rogue)

Lizard - Brown tom with menacing green eyes (Loner)

Raspberry - White she-cat with pale pink eyes (Kittypet)


	2. Prologue

It was dark and stormy, raining coming down from the sky fast. The moon peeked out from under the angry clouds. Moonlight shone down on a giant tree in the middle of a clearing. In this clearing, there was a group of cats, all of them uneasy. There was soft whispering in the clearing, but nothing louder than that except for a huge white tom pacing back and forth, his feet stomping on the ground.

"What is taking ThunderClan so long?" the tom asked, his paces becoming faster and louder.

"Calm down, Icestar. I'm sure that they will be here soon. Besides, this is supposed to be a peaceful meeting, not a hostile one." A red she-cat said, slightly rubbing her tail against the tom.

"Sure, Rosefoot." After he said that, Icestar turned away from Rosefoot, looking off into the distance.

Then, a yowl sounded at the entrance of the clearing. The cats turned their heads immediately to the sound. A smaller group of cats came through the entrance following a light yellow she-cat with orange eyes. The cats who entered filled the clearing, keeping to themselves. The she-cat pranced over to the leaders, who were near the giant tree.

An orange tom stepped forward. "Why are you so late, Lightstar? The Gathering should've started by now, yet it is already past moonhigh," the tom accused. Lightstar, however, didn't look upset at all. In fact, she looked unaffected.

"Chill, Blazestar. I'm here, aren't I? Don't get your whiskers in a twist." Lightstar walked past Blazestar.

"You know, Lightstar, just because you became ThunderClan's new leader doesn't mean you are entitled to special treatment. Do you even care about Sunstar dying?" Rosefoot asked her, clearly agitated. Her fur puffed up a little when she said that to Lightstar.

"Uh huh. Whatever, Rosefoot," Lightstar said, not acknowledging the red she-cat. She continued, "Are we starting this meeting or not?" She was just in front of the giant tree and bunched her haunches together, ready to jump.

"Actually," a grey tabby tom known as Swiftstar said, "we are starting from down, _Lightstar._ " He sneered her name at her, and she turned around suddenly to stare at him. He stared back at her, a smirk on his face. Neither one backed down, and the gap between them filled with tension.

Blazestar cleared his throat, gathering the attention of the other cats, including Lightstar and Swiftstar. "Now then," Blazestar said, looking around the clearing at the worried cats, "I know you are all scared. I am too. Deathcough has claimed so many lives and StarClan hasn't given us any answers, nor a cure. But, we all know how StarClan works in mysterious ways. If they are silent now, then we must be close to stopping this deadly disease!" Some cats scattered among the clearing cheered, and the rest look hopeful.

"Besides, we have been strong! Our ancestors have fought off BloodClan, the Dark Forest, the Badger Claw, and countless other diseases. And they still lived to tell the tale! If they could get through that, then we can fight through this!" Cats in the clearing cheered and smiled wide. However, there was one cat of few who weren't convinced.

"And how exactly do we defeat this? Deathcough has claimed most of our friends, kin, and it's still claiming more lives! You give me one good way to kill this sickness!" yelled a light grey tom with orange eyes, anger in his eyes. He yelled at the leaders, but everyone could hear what he said. This outburst abruptly stopped the cheering and made most cats look worried. All of them whispered to each other, scared.

Swiftstar stepped forward and looked around the clearing at the worried cats. "Everyone, everyone, calm down. There is no need for panic. We can fight through this, if we keep our heads." He reassured the cats and the murmuring stopped.

Swiftstar then stared at the cat who cause most of the cats in the clearing to panic. "And to answer your question, Breezefur, I do propose something. I say that in every litter of kits, a kit will be required to become a medicine cat if the medicine cats in the clan have their full name. There will be up to four medicine cats in each clan, so that we will have a better chance of curing Deathcough. Any objections?" He looked around to the cats and to the other leaders. Nobody said a word.

It seemed like a lifetime before Blazestar stepped forward and spoke to the crowd. "If there are no objections, then let us use Swiftstar's idea and add a new rule to the Warrior Code and the Medicine Cat Code. In every new litter of kits, one kit will become an apprentice for the objective of becoming a full medicine cat. This can only happen if the medicine cats who will apprentice the kit have their full names and there isn't already four medicine cats. Now, if no one else has news to share, let us call an end to this Gathering so we can go back to our own clans."

And with that said, the cats started filling out of the clearing, going back to their clans to do their duties and help however they could.

 **Hello everyone. This is going to be my first story on the profile, so please, bear with me if I don't upload as often. I do have a life outside of this computer, and it is pretty hectic. But, other than that, please enjoy this story**.

 **Update: I've updated this chapter for the purpose of correcting any mistakes I might've made and make this chapter much better. Anyways, have a good day.**

 **-Moon**


	3. Apprenticeship

"Nightkit, get up. It's time to get up, sweety." I hear those words, someone from the outside world. I hampered my eyes to open, but they nudged me. Seems like I should wake up now.

When I opened my eyes, gentle, green eyes stared down at me. Ivyheart. My mother. "Wake up, sweetheart. Today is very important for you and your siblings." I could feel my sister and brother, Dewkit and Pinekit, stirring next to me. I tried to remember what day was today, what made it so special, but nothing came to mind. Of course, I couldn't think of anything before Pinekit's outburst.

"Yay! We're gonna become apprentices!" Pinekit howled. Ivyheart shushed him, but it was too late since every queen and kit woke up instantly and stared at us, Pinekit especially. Ivyheart said her apologies and scolded Pinekit.

So that's what is so important. We're going to become apprentices. I instantly thought Sorrelpelt, ShadowClan's medicine cat, and thought of her with pride. She's so brave to fight against Deathcough. I hope I get her as a mentor.

Dewkit got up and shook out the moss in her fur. She yawned while looking annoyed and said, "You're acting childish, Pinekit. Today, we are going to become the new generation of warriors in ShadowClan. While some cats are sick with Deathcough and the medicine cats are trying to cure it, we are in charge of protecting our borders and feeding the clan."

"Hush," Ivyheart said, "It's all right, no need to stress. I can already see that you'll be a strong warrior." Ivyheart purred with affection and Dewkit puffed her chest out.

Pinekit stuck his tongue out at them and turned to me. "Why do you wanna be a medicine cat, Nightkit? Isn't it going to be boring?"

"On the contrary, Pinekit, it's not and it's very important. _We_ are the ones who will be fighting the war against Deathcough."

"Yeah, but you might not be a medicine cat. You might be a warrior." Pinekit argued.

"Really? I'm sure Blazestar won't pass up the opportunity to make a new medicine cat apprentice. Remember the new rule?" Dewkit said. Yes, the new rule. Each new litter should have at least one new medicine cat apprentice until we have four total. But still, what if Sorrelpelt or Blazestar, or, StarClan forbid, _both_ , see me unfit to become a medicine cat apprentice.

"Hush, my loves. It seems like you're too crowded in here. It sounds like you all need to get out and into the sunlight." Ivyheart gently nudged us outside and we all padded out of the nursery.

Sunlight pierced my eyes and I shut them tight. When I opened them back up again, I looked around the camp and it was as busy as ever. Cats were filling in and out of camp, taking moss and fresh-kill in and dirty bedding out.

Ivyheart looked to her left and purred. I followed her gaze and saw my father, Crowfang. His white fur glistened against the sun and I didn't notice until now how hot it was.

Crowfang looked to us and smile, only a diminutive bit. "You all are going to be great to the clan. I can see it now." He then looked to the branch hanging over our leader's den. It's where Blazestar makes announcements to the clan. Where he will announce to the clan that we will be apprentices.

Pinekit spoke up, excitement overflowing in his blood. "When are we gonna become apprentices?"

Ivyheart licked his ear and said, "Don't worry, my dear. It won't be long now. You just have to patient. Which also might be any moment." As fast as a rabbit, she started to lick Pinekit's fur to stay down somewhat, then worked on mine. I gave no protest, but my father did.

"It's alright, Ivyheart. They look fine, they would look even better with their fur messy. Gives cats a feeling that they work hard." Ivyhart snorted a little and went back to cleaning our pelts. She finished mine and went to Dewkit's.

My mother worked with a certain quickness, getting done with Dewkit's fur as soon as Blazestar leaped unto Highbranch. All cats gathered around the hazel branch, eagerly awaiting news.

"My clanmates," he started, "I know that you all are scared, but we cannot live in fear of Deathcough, for I know that we will come out victorious!" This receives cheers from the clan. Blazestar hushes them and continues with his speech. "And to fight this, we need new, strong warriors." He looks to my siblings before speaking again.

"Dewkit, Pinekit, and Nightkit, please step forward." We do so as soon as he finishes with his sentence. I can feel the excitement bubbling from my littermates and me. We have been waiting for the moment our whole lives of being kits.

Blazestar turns to my sister. "Dewkit **,** you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to become a new apprentice of ShadowClan. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Dewpaw. Your mentor will be Nettlewatcher. I hope that Nettlewatcher will pass down all she knows on to you." Dewkit, now Dewpaw, has her chest puffed out, clearly pleased that she got the deputy as her mentor.

Nettlewatcher steps forward and Blazestar continues. "Nettlewatcher, you have done with Sunfur and you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Wolfspots, and you have shown yourself to be kind and strong. You will be the mentor of Dewpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her." Then, Nettlewatcher and Dewpaw touch noses and they both step aside.

"Pinekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Pinepaw. Your mentor will be Goosenose. I hope that Goosenose will pass down all he knows on to you." Pinepaw looked happy that he got the most carefree, funniest cat in the clan.

"Goosenose, you came here as an apprentice from RiverClan, looking for new life in ShadowClan that you have received. I see that you are now fit to take on an apprentice. You have been given great training by Shadepelt and you have shown yourself to be loyal and patient. You will be the mentor Pinepaw." Both Goosenose and Pinepaw touch noses, Pinepaw tripping a bit, and receding back.

Then, Sorreltail leaps unto Highbranch, Blazestar moving over so that she has enough room. I knew exactly what this was. I had made it. I was going to be a medicine cat apprentice. I had to refrain myself from jumping up and down.

Sorreltail clears her throat and says, "Cats of ShadowClan, it is time for me to take on an apprentice. Your next medicine cat will be Nightpaw."

Blazestar then speaks. "Nightpaw, do you accept the post of apprentice to Sorreltail?"

With all my voice, I answer, "I do."

Blazestar replies with, "Then at half-moon, you must travel to the Moonpool to be accepted by StarClan before the other medicine cat. The good wishes of ShadowClan will go with you."

Sorreltail leaps down and touches noses with me, and all around me, the clan is cheering our new names, "Dewpaw! Pinepaw! Nightpaw!" over and over again. And I've never felt more proud in my entire life.

 **Hello everyone. If you are reading this, it means I have successfully finished the first chapter. Wonderful! I felt somewhat tired when writing this and half of my hand is numb, so i can't use it to type; however I got this chapter done, with a word count of 1246 words. This had to be the longest chapter so far, so I am quite proud. Anyways, have a good day!**

 **-Moon**


	4. Training Day

Excitement filled my chest. I was not only an apprentice, but I was about to be trained to become a medicine cat, one of the most important roles in the clan! I couldn't wait to start and my mind wandered to what I would learn. I shook my head to clear my thoughts when I spotted out of the corner of my eye my new mentor, Sorrelpelt, heading towards the medicine cat den, which would soon be a place to lay my head at night. I bid my family goodbye and hurried to my new den.

"Um, what are we doing today?" I turned and faced my new mentor. She had her back to me, so I peeked over her shoulder and saw that she was busy organizing herbs into separate piles.

"Today, I'm going to teach you about different kinds of herbs and their uses." She lightly brings over three plants; a plant with strong scented leaves, a plant with thistles, and a plants with small, star-shaped flowers. She sets them each down with space inbetween them and points to the star-shaped flowers plant with her paw.

"Do you recognize this one, Nightpaw?"

I breathed in the scent of the plant, but I can't tell what it was. "Er… no?" I say, my ears flattened. I knew I should've come in here more often, but I was always worried that I would get under someone's paws.

She smiled at me and said, "That's alright, it is your first time after all. This is borage and you use the leaves to help with fever and increase the supply of milk of a queen. You can easily recognize the plant by its flowers."

"Borage…. Leaves help with fever and increases milk…" I repeated what she said under my breath. I didn't want to forget a few plants so quickly.

She then points to the first plant, the one with the delicious smelling leaves. "This is catmint. The leaves work wonderfully well with whitecough and greencough. You can always tell by the scent it gives off. But, you should save it because it is very useful and dies off quickly." I didn't need to repeat what she said because I could easily remember a plant like this with a scent like it.

"Lastly," she prods the thistle plant, "this is burrock, and the only valuable thing is the roots. Once you dig up the roots and wash off the dirt, you can chew it into a pulp and apply it to rat bites to prevent the wound getting infected." Again, I repeated the information under my breath. For some reason, doing that makes me remember it better and boosts my self-confidence up a little.

"Now, it is important that you remember all these things, ok Nightpaw?" I nod my head when she says that.

"We are quite important; though warriors can save others in battle, we are the only ones who can fight the battle of sickness. Do you understand?" I nod my head again. I know my role as an apprentice training to become a medicine cat. If I make one mistake, I might put a live at risk.

She gave me a reassuring smile and said, "Good. Let's continue then."

I was starting to get tired. I spent all day learning about different herbs and their uses. Feverfew is a bush with flowers and the flowers can cure fever… Marigold is a bright flower and can be chewed into a pulp to cure infection…

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I knew I would remember it all because of how much I had repeated and memorized each plant. Sorreltail had let me go so I could eat and catch up with my littermates.

I grabbed a mouse in between my jaws and spotted my littermates entering camp, joy written on their faces. They saw me and also grabbed something from the fresh kill pile and headed over towards me. Dewpaw took a squirrel, something somewhat rare in our territory, while Pinepaw took a lizard. We sat down together and I started to talk, which was quite unusual.

"So, what did you guys do?" I ask, curiosity written on my face. Pinepaw started rambling on about them exploring the territory; even running into a RiverClan patrol, which Pinepaw explains were quite friendly; and doing a bit of hunting.

Dewpaw cuts Pinepaw off when he was talking about a fern that looked like a cat and says, "What did you do, Nightpaw?"

"Well, I learned a lot about different kinds of herbs and their uses. Like how juniper berries, which are purple, help with bellyaches and breathing issues. And how horsetail grows well here and helps with-" I kept rambling on about different herbs and didn't notice it until Pinepaw cut me off.

"Yeah, but why are you telling us this. It isn't important to warriors-to-be like us." My pelt grew hot with embarrassment. I shouldn't bore them with my new knowledge.

"Hush, Pinepaw. You shouldn't disrespect a future medicine cat." Dewpaw interjected her thoughts and scolded him with both her words and eyes.

"It isn't a rule though." Pinepaw looked at her with an unknown glare in his eye.

"Yes, but it should. It's important, just like the rest of the warrior code."

"Again about the warrior code. You should hear her, Nightpaw. She acts like it's the most important thing in the world."

"That's because it is, Pinepaw!" They continue arguing about topics that I have no knowledge in. This is when I truly feel isolated. When we were kits, we would do everything together. Sure, we would argue, but we all knew what we were talking about.

It felt different. They treated me different. I saw how Dewpaw treated me, like someone important instead of a sister. Maybe it was a bad idea to become a medicine cat.

"Where are you going, Nightpaw?" I started to leave them, but Dewpaw caught me leaving.

"I, uh, have a lot of work to do tomorrow, so I'm gonna get some rest." I hope my lie is believable.

"Oh, that makes sense, I guess. Good night then." Pinepaw says as I walk towards the medicine cat den. I spotted my nest when I walked and I tried to fall asleep to get rid of the sadness and loneliness.

 **Hello again. Sorry for not uploading sooner! I had quite a bit of homework and I also lost track of the days. But anyways, if any of you have any questions about my uploading time, I usually put up another chapter every Saturday or Sunday. If you have any other questions, excluding my uploading time, please ask as I will be happy to help.**

 **Also, before I end this chapter, I would just like to say a few words. I would like to thank all the people who read my story and to thank Hazeldapple for leaving such nice reviews. It really gets me motivated to write new chapters when people read and enjoy the content I make.**

 **Well, without further to do, I hope you have a good day.**

 **-Moon**


	5. Sickness

I awoke suddenly to the sound of dripping rain. Although I was groggy, I looked up and saw a leak in the roof with a raindrop coming down gradually. I looked to my right and saw my mentor still asleep. I decided not to bother her and laid my head back down on the moss that made up most of my nest.

I couldn't be napping for long because soon an abrupt cough made me jerk my head up. I thought it was Sorreltail at first, waking me up from a nap to continue to train. However, it turned out Rainstorm, another cat in ShadowClan and who looked like she had a terrible cold. Her nose was running and she looked a little out of it.

I immediately got up and padded over to her. "What can I do for you?"

"Hi, Nightpaw. I just have the sniffles. Do you have anything for this?" She sniffled a little when she says this.

"Of course. Wait here for a moment." I go back to the herb stores and look for something to treat it.

"Hey, I'm also feeling a bit feverish, so can you get something for it too, please?" I mumble over my shoulder an okay and continue to look. The store seemed to have more feverfew, which was great for fevers, so I grabbed a couple leaves in my jaws. I also grabbed a tansy plant to cure Rainstorm's cold.

I walked back over to her and instead of chewing the plants into a pulp and making a poultice, I decided to wake up Sorreltail in case I accidentally poisoned my patient.

"Sorreltail, could you please wake up?" I said as I prodded her with my paw.

"Yes, Nightpaw?" She got out of her nest and shook moss out of her pelt.

"Hey, um, Rainstorm came in and said that she felt feverish and she is coughing a lot. So, I decided to get some feverfew and a tansy plant for her." Sorreltail then nodded and opened her eyes, which looked fully aware of the situation.

I started to chew the herbs into a pulp when Sorreltail. My thoughts filled with worry and anxiety that I did something wrong. She went over to Rainstorm and felt her head. After she did this, she meowed, "You seemed very feverish, Rainstorm. Perhaps you should lay down and take some medicine. Furthermore, you should probably stay here for the night. But you shouldn't worry; I'm sure that everything is just fine." But I could see a small light of panic in her eyes. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

After Sorreltail and I build a nice, comfortable nest and got Rainstorm situated, she fell fast asleep. Sorreltail then turned to me and said, "Are you ready to learn more, Nightpaw?" I nodded my head and we got to work quickly.

Sorreltail went back to our stores and she came back with a tall plant. "Do you know what this is?" She asked.

"Um, I think that is horsetail?" I replied with hesitance.

"Correct. You can make it into a poultice and it can be applied to wounds." She nods at me with approval in her eyes and goes back to the store to gather more herbs.

Again, we spent the entire day training. Sorreltail informed me that she will take me to explore the territory and train me how to fight soon. But in between the herbs, Sorreltail gave Rainstorm small doses of catmint. This perked up my interest and I finally got the courage to ask when Rainstorm was sound asleep.

"Sorreltail, is everything alright with Rainstorm?"

She didn't notice that I said anything for a second because she was busy with herbs. When she realized this, she turned to me and said, "Nightpaw, can you help me get some yarrow from the back, please?" I nodded and we headed to the back.

"I don't want to alarm you, especially not Rainstorm, but I'm afraid that Rainstorm is really sick. I'm not so sure, but I've seen the symptoms of this disease before. I'm just waiting to see a definite red light." Immediately after she said this, we both heard a terrifying, sickly cough. We quickly padded back to our patient to see what was going on.

Rainstorm was coughing up blood. I turned to my mentor to witness the panic in her eyes. I guess this was the red light she was waiting for.

"It's nothing! I'm fine!" She looked terrified. All of us knew what this meant.

"Look Rainstorm, I'm so sorry, but I'm afraid that you have deathcough."

 **Hello again. Sorry that it's so short, but I felt that it was a good stopping place and quite a cliffhanger. Anyways, I hope that you all have a good day.**

 **-Moon**


	6. The Death

My throat closed up and I could hardly breathe. Even though I wasn't the one who was dying, it felt like it. When I was a kit, my siblings and I played like we were heroes and acted as though we were gonna save everyone from the plague. We didn't know what it was exactly. We didn't know how the victims would react, how hard it is to put on a straight face. We didn't know.

"No, no, no, no, no! I'm healthy, this isn't possible! You can fix this, can't you?" Rainstorm was so scared. She didn't want to die and I didn't want that to.

My mentor breathed and swallowed her fears. Finally, she said in a calm voice, "I'm sorry, Rainstorm, I can't change this. If I could, I would. But I don't know how." Rainstorm started to sob and kept murmuring that she didn't want to die and praying to StarClan.

I knew that it was dangerous, but to comfort Rainstorm, I pressed my muzzle into her fur. I didn't care at that moment if I would get sick or not. If I could make someone a little happier, than I would be happy. She sniffed from her cries and quietly said a 'thank you' under her breath.

Sorreltail gently pulled me back from Rainstorm. "Nightpaw," she said, "we need to move her away from the rest of the clan and place her in the sick den." It was common knowledge of the sick dens. When a cat has contracted deathcough, medicine cats move the cat to the sick dens and the cat dies there.

"Rainstorm I thi-" Sorreltail was interrupted by a shot of blood that came out of Rainstorm's throat. What is happening? The sickness shouldn't have mutated this far. Every cat knew that if you have deathcough, you start seeing signs in a few days and you start coughing up blood a few days after that. So, why is she this sick?

Sorreltail started again, "Rainstorm, I think we should start moving. It's going to be alright."

Rainstorm had tears in her eyes, but she nodded and got up from her nest, weakly. "I'm gonna say goodbye to my friends and family, right."

"Of course, they'll meet you there," said Sorreltail hesitantly. "First, I need to talk with Blazestar about this. Nightpaw," Sorreltail turned to me, "stay here and keep Rainstorm company." Sorreltail left us together to discuss with Blazestar.

I stared after her and wondered what to say. But, I wasn't the first one to talk. "You and your kin must be so proud of you, Nightpaw." I glanced at Rainstorm and tried to detect any sarcasm or anger. However, she only has kindness in her voice and eyes. "You're doing a great service to your clan. I even heard that StarClan blesses medicine cats with health so that they can be healthy when they treat their patients."

Sorreltail came back and gather up some herbs, traveling herbs. She made three bundles of herbs while pushing them in front of us. After she was finished, Rainstorm, Sorreltail, and I ate them quickly, though Rainstorm was hesitant, probably afraid of what was about to come.

"Let us move now, while there is still sunlight. Nightpaw, could you gather a couple leaves of catmint and some poppy seeds?" I nodded when Sorreltail said this and went to the back of our stores to gather the herbs.

After I had done this, we set off to the sick den. Cats looked at us with curiosity sparkling in their eyes. We ignored their stares and continued walking out of camp.

It took us awhile to reach the den, partially because of how weak Rainstorm was, but mostly because it was so far away so that other cats don't get sick. And, like I said, Rainstorm was quite weak, so we had to take breaks in between so she could catch her breath.

Finally, we had reached the den and it was past sunhigh. It was a tall, sheltered twoleg thing with strong bark and space inside. Sorreltail nudged me while I was observing it and said, "We should go make Rainstorm's nest now, and quickly, so that she will have somewhere to rest." Meanwhile, Rainstorm was looking around, clearly delusional from fever.

When Rainstorm was busing looking around for something, Sorreltail and I collected some moss and thistles and we built her a nest. I even found a feather for Rainstorm's nest.

Sorreltail then led Rainstorm over and we got her settled in her nest. Afterwards, we built our own nests while periodically checking on Rainstorm.

Then, Sorreltail asked me to give her the herbs I had brought. I gave them to her and she pushed a leaf of catmint and a couple poppy seeds. "Eat this, Rainstorm. You'll feel better if you do." Rainstorm licks up the herbs, chews them, and swallows it. I don't know if I was hearing things, but I thought that Rainstorm purred.

After Rainstorm went to sleep, Sorreltail turned to me and said, "We shouldn't bother her, so I might as well teach you a few things." She led me outside and, once again, said, "I'm going to teach you the hunter's crouch, so that you can hunt prey if you need to." I nodded. Most kits knew the basics about it, but didn't know fully how to do it. I heard that before deathcough, apprentices used to show off to kits how to do it, mostly because kits would beg to see it. However, apprentices were really busy with hunting, fighting, and training.

She asked me to show her my crotch so I did. It was somewhat sloppy because I was more involved with herbs than fighting. She kindly corrected my crotch and it felt quite natural. Out of instinct, I jumped and caught a nearby leaf. I glanced at Sorreltail and she was softly laughing with love in her eyes. To be completely honest, I felt happy and free. I even almost forgot about Rainstorm's sickness. Almost.

"Well, you keep catching leaves while I go check on Rainstorm," said Sorreltail as she turned towards the sick den and went in. I smiled and went back on my quest to catch all of the leaves that were around the den.

Sorreltail was gone for a long time, so I called out her name. "Sorreltail, is everything alright?" She returned a few minutes later with a grim look on her face. "Sorreltail…" I said again.

"Rainstorm… she's dead." What? But, she was fine a couple minutes ago. She shouldn't be dead, so soon. I wanted to say all of these things, but my lungs and throat couldn't form the words.

"We have to bury her and wash ourselves of sickness. Nightpaw, are you ok?" She saw how distressed I was. I nodded my head because I was mentally choking. I didn't know her personally, but Rainstorm was a close friend of my father's.

"Alright then, let's get started." I dug a hole while Sorreltail dragged her outside. She placed her in there while we covered her with dirt. I spotted small yellow flowers nearby, so I picked a few and placed it on her grave. We stood there for a while in pure silence so that we could mourn.

Afterwards, we went to a small deep stream that was hidden in ShadowClan territory. We washed ourselves off and shook off the water. I was quiet the whole time while Sorreltail tried to make light of the subject.

Then, we walked back to camp and everyone looked at us the same way they looked at us when we left, but with more sadness in their eyes. I tried to keep on a straight face, to make everyone believe that we were fine. Even though we had sadness in each pawstep.

 **Hello. I think that this must be the longest chapter I've written so far. But it's quite ironic though. The rest of my chapters I wrote were written through a period of days. However, I just wrote this today. Huh. Also, I ran this through a grammar site to check for any errors, and, for some reason, it was all one paragraph. So that was fun going through my writing again and making them into separate paragraphs. But, anyways, thank you for reading and have a good day.**

 **-Moon**


	7. Aftermath

As soon as we got back to camp, I was overwhelmed. Not just because of Rainstorm's death, but because of the healing herb information I was told all at once. I couldn't tell if Sorreltail saying it to me to teach it or saying it to herself to remember it.

"Coltsfoots for shortness of breathe, watermint for bellyache, marigold to prevent infection… Nightpaw, are you listening?" Sorreltail snapped. I was trapped in my own thoughts that I didn't hear my mentor at all. I flatted my ears while I felt like a scolded kitten.

"Yes, Sorreltail."

"Good, because I need you to sort out the herb store by organizing it and taking out all of the dead herbs." I had never seen Sorreltail like this. She was always so kind and caring. But now she was demanding and annoyed. Still I didn't have the guts to say that to her face.

"Yes, Sorreltail." I said. I immediately got to the back where the store was and started to get to work. I didn't know all of the herbs, but they were different in some way, which made it easier to sort. The only hard part was to sort the good herbs from the dead ones.

Meanwhile, Sorreltail was also helping by supervising and sorting as well. She moved with a certain quickness, which I can only guess from her seasons of practices. Then, finally, she was interrupted by Blazestar.

"Sorreltail, may I speak to you for a moment?"

"What?" Sorreltail snapped again and I was scared. My blood had run cold at the sight of this. She never had snapped at anyone, not even kits who got under her paws while she was working. Especially not the leader of a clan.

Sorreltail quickly realized this and soon wore the expression of tiredness. "I'm sorry, Blazestar. I just have a lot on my mind."

"I understand, Sorreltail. But, I'm intrigued by how fast you got back." When he said this, I knew he was talking about Rainstorm. Everyone in the clan must be talking about her and how quick our return was. They were probably scared out of their minds, which they had a reason to be. If a healthy cat like Rainstorm could die so quickly due to Deathcough, then what will happen to those who aren't as healthy; the kits, the elders (if we had any), and the sick.

"Rainstorm died shortly after she contracted Deathcough, you know this."

"Yes, but she couldn't have died _this_ quickly. Do you think the disease is mutating?"

"I doubt it." Sorreltail said. "A couple days ago, she came in here because she had a cold. I think that she died quickly because she was previously sick."

Blazestar's fur relaxed; he was also on-edge about Rainstorm. "Good," Blazestar said, "then the clan will have nothing to fear."

He turned to me and asked, "How are you feeling, Nightpaw?"

"I'm good." My voice came out shy and meekly, which was the opposite of what I wanted to sound like.

Blazestar chuckled at this. "Don't worry, young one, you'll do fine. Do not be afraid to speak your mind." He looked at Sorreltail and said, "Have a good day, Sorreltail."

"You too." Blazestar exited the den as she said this. "Let's get to work, shall we?" She went back to the herb store and went straight to work. Blazestar's words echoed in my mind. " _Do not be afraid to speak your mind."_ I had finally worked up the courage to ask, "Sorreltail, what's wrong."

"What do you mean?" She kept going with her work.

"You snapped at both of Blazestar and me. You're mad about something." That's when she stopped in her tracks. I had just hit a nerve. Please don't let her be mad at me.

She turned to me and I could see how tired she was. She had bags under her eyes and her shoulders drooped. Suddenly, I felt pitiful for her. "Nightpaw… I don't want to leave you underprepared…"

"What are you talking about?"

"If what happened to Rainstorm happens to me, then I want you to be prepared, like I said."

"What? But, you can't die! Not for a long time, at least!" As soon as I bursted out, I immediately regretted it. Deathcough doesn't care who it takes, who its victims are. It was stupid to say, really.

"You are still young, my apprentice. But, that is good. You wouldn't know most of the horrors of it." Her voice was quiet, like her words were choked up in her throat.

"You wouldn't know this, but I used to have an apprentice. Her name was Lilypaw, not much older than you are. She, uh, died sadly. From deathcough. It was hard on me, but I worry that, what if that happened to me. What would happen to those who I left behind." Her back was turned to me, but I could tell that she was crying. Her voice was crackling and she kept sniffling.

I went up to her and suddenly pressed my body up against her. She was still crying, but I didn't think she felt so sad anymore. I just wanted to make her feel better.

"Thank you.." Sorreltail barely uttered the words. Then, she shook herself off a little and faced me again. Her eyes were red, but she looked somewhat happy.

"I'll try to be here with you for as long as I can." She pressed her muzzle into me and then glanced at the back of the den. "Now, let us go sort those herbs, shall we?"

 **Luckily, everyone, I got this chapter done in time. Yay! But, sorry it was so short. I was doing something quite important during the week and rarely had time to write. Also, I want to thank LilacKitten for the nice review and everyone who has read this story! Have a good day.**

 **-Moon**


	8. Dreams at the Moonpool

It has been a couple of days since Rainstorm's passing and today will be one of the most important days of my life. Today will be the day where I will be presented in front of StarClan; today will be the day where I officially became ShadowClan's newest medicine cat apprentice.

I was currently organizing some herbs , keeping myself busy before Sorreltail and I traveled to the Moonpool. I wanted to push the thought to the back of my head so that I won't be dreading every second till we go. I sound like a kit wanting to go outside, but has to wait for its siblings.

I was just getting through a group of juniper berries when my mentor entered the den. "Time to go," Sorreltail said as I took the juniper berries to the place where they belonged. She already started walking away, so I caught up to her as quick as I could. She slightly chuckled and nudge the top of my head. After that, we padded out of camp without any troubles.

Before my first trip to the Moonpool, Sorreltail told me that usually some medicine cats would wait up for others when traveling to the Moonpool. For us, ThunderClan would be waiting at the border. "Let us hurry, Nightpaw," my mentor said, "so that we won't keep ThunderClan waiting." So, Sorreltail and I started to go at a faster rate in order to reach the Moonpool at sunset.

As soon as we stopped, a disgusting scent hit my nose, one that I have never smelt before. A couple a cats were waiting in front of us; a grey tabby she-cat with eyes that blended in with the forest, and a pale she-cat with green eyes as well.

"It is good to see you," the older she-cat said to Sorreltail when we crossed what I think is the border. "It is good to see you too, Willowpelt," Sorreltail said. "How is ThunderClan and Beepelt?"

"They are both good…" Both of the older medicine cats continued to exchange words while we traveled. The cream colored cat, however, was not as focused as her peer, nor was she quiet. She kept bouncing around and kept looking at everything, even though it was _her_ territory. She noticed that I was staring at her, so she says, "Hi! I'm Daisypaw! You know, because of my pelt!" She continues, asking, "What's your name?"

I reluctantly answer, "Nightpaw." She just nods her head like she already knew that, which, according to her, she did. "Of course you would be named that. I'm mean, look at your pelt! There aren't a lot of beautiful names with fur like that!" Two things happened in that moment; I started to become self-conscious of how I looked and I didn't like this Daisypaw character that much.

After what had seemed like forever with Daisypaw talking, we finally reached the Moonpool. Well, we were not directly in front of it, but we were near it, according to my mentor. When we arrived, I glanced to the left of me and in the distant, I saw 3 cats coming towards us.

They soon arrived and the older medicine cats greeted them. They all looked happy to see one another. However, there was a black tom who looked a bit uneasy. But perhaps this is his first Moonpool Gathering, like me.

"Um, hi…" I worked up the courage to ask him that. He looked a little relieved; perhaps he noticed that I was young too and it was probably my first time.

"Hello. I'm Darkpaw. It's my first time being here." I nodded in agreement. We then started talking about herbs and how life was being a medicine cat apprentice. I could tell that we could be friends.

"Come along now, it's time." The brown tabby tom, who smelled like fish, said. I glanced above me and saw that the moon was almost directly overhead. We all followed the tom until we reached our destination. The Moonpool.

It was so lovely and you could see the reflection of the moon in it. "It is beautiful, isn't it?" My mentor must of noticed me staring into the pool. But, who wouldn't with beauty like that?

"I will start." The older brown tom cleared his throat and said, "Darkpaw, is it your wish to enter the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?"

"It is," Darkpaw said, looking slightly worried.

"Then come forward." As soon as he said this, Darkpaw stepped forward.

"Warriors of StarClan, I present you with this apprentice. Darkpaw has chosen the path of a medicine cat. Grant him your wisdom and insight so that he may understand your ways and heal his Clan in accordance with your will." Then, Darkpaw and the brown tom touched noses and we all called out Darkpaw's name.

The brown tom nodded to Sorreltail and she said, "Thank you, Mudfang." She then turned to me, "Nightpaw, is it your wish to enter the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?"

I nodded, "Yes, it is."

"Then step forward." I did as she said and my heart filled with joy. This is it. I was going to officially become an apprentice to Sorretail. A medicine cat apprentice.

"Warriors of StarClan, I present you with this apprentice. Nightpaw has chosen the path of a medicine cat. Grant her your wisdom and insight so that she may understand your ways and heal her Clan in accordance with your will." Sorreltail walked toward me and we touched noses like we did when I was named 'Nightpaw'. The other medicine cats also called out my name. I'd never felt more happy in my entire life so far.

"Come on, it's moonhigh. We wouldn't want to keep our ancestors waiting," A brown tabby tom with intense yellow eyes said and we all gathered around the Moonpool. We touched our noses to the pool and I fell into a deep sleep.

 _When I could finally open my eyes, it was pitch black. So dark I could barely see in front of me. I looked around, trying to spot any source of light. But sadly, I was unsuccessful. Then, a pale blue she-cat was in front of me._ 'Rainstorm,' _I thought. I tried to speak with her, but I couldn't. No sound was coming out of my throat._

 _She reached down and touched noses with me. As soon as she did that, I felt an electrifying shock. But, it was bad. It kinda felt safe, in some ways. She started walking away and swished her tail to signal that she wanted me to followed. So I did. It was getting light and lighter as we walk._

 _She suddenly stopped and looked down at something. I followed her gaze and saw something horrifying. There were cats screaming left and right, but no noise escaped their lips, just as how I couldn't talk. Some of them fell, but they didn't get up. There were dying._

 _Though, soon the cats rose and disappeared. A band of cats then came and attacked everyone. There was another cat who ran and soon, the cats who attacked disappeared. And everyone looked happy. No one looked sick. The sickness wasn't there._

 _The image disappeared and Rainstorm turned to me suddenly. "Be careful," she said. I knew she wanted to say more, but I gaining consciousness. I was waking up. Then, it all went black._

"Well, that was nice." I looked around me and saw that the other cats talking to each other.

"I spoke with my old mentor, Snailfur. Geez, he's still cranky even in StarClan," Willowpelt chuckled. All of the others nodded, except for Darkpaw. They had seen their former mentors or friends as well.

Darkpaw got somewhat close to me and asked, "Did you have a confusing dream as well?" I nodded and he sighed while looking relieved. "Me too. But, I'm gonna try to decipher it. Better to figure it out before I tell my mentor, Mudfang . He can get a bit cranky if it isn't important."

"That's a good idea," I said to him.

I was going to say more to him, but then Willowpelt said, "Alright, time to go home, guys. We'll all have a long day tomorrow." Sorreltail nods her head and gestures to me. I go over to her and we all start to head out. I turned my head and yell 'Goodbye' over my shoulder to Darkpaw. What he said made sense. Why worry someone if you don't even know what it means? So, right there, I decided not to tell Sorreltail for now.

 **Hello! I am finally done! Yay! But anyways, this is probably my longest chapter so far. I aim to range the word count about 1350 to 1800 words. I don't want to make the chapter** _ **too**_ **long, nor too short.**

 **To SilverMidnightMoon, thank you for your amazing review! It means a lot to me. To Hazledapple, I am sorry to tell you if I answered your question, then I would give away some of the story. Which means neither yes or no. You will have to figure that one out for yourself.**

 **Also, before this chapter gets any longer, I would ask something of all of you who are reading my story. If I have made any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes, please tell either in a review or a PM, but please do not yell at me. Just calmly tell me what my mistakes were so I can fix them, if any.**

 **But, that's all right now because I have to go to a music practice.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **-Moon**


	9. Duties and Lessons

For several days, that vision was all I thought about. It didn't make sense. All I could make out of it was that Deathcough was gone. But the part that didn't make sense was the group of cats attacking everyone. It couldn't be representing Deathcough because the cats who were attacked had blood and wounds on them. Besides, wouldn't it just be one cat or not a cat at all?

I pushed my thoughts of the vision to the back of my head. I was currently preparing herbs for Duskheart, the soon-to-be-mother. I'm happy that she settled down with Mudskip and was having kits of her own.

While I recollected my thoughts, I gathered the herbs for Duskheart; a few leaves of borage, a chervil root, and a poppy seed were the herbs I collected. Sorreltail told me to bring them to the new queen so she could keep up her strength.

I compiled the herbs together and exited the medicine cat den. As I walked to the nursery, two she-kits were currently playing outside the den. I wouldn't really be bothered by kits play-fighting, but they were somewhat in my way.

"Um, excuse me?" I decided to go a more friendly route of approaching them. The kits just look at me for a second, then go back to playing. With a sign, I made a decision to gently push them out of the way. Fortunately, they don't notice it.

I ducked my head in when I entered the nursery, in order to avoid the brambles above me. My eyes had a hard time adjusting in the nursery because it was so dark, were as I was always in sunlight. But, it wasn't a big deal. Besides, I had a job to do

Inside, Dawnmist was sleeping with her three kits curled up next to her. I walked deeper into the place that was once my den and saw my mother, Ivyheart, helping Duskheart get settled in her new nest. Since my littermates and I became apprentices, Ivyheart stayed a queen to help other queens, which made her a permanent queen.

"Hello?" I said. I didn't want to disturb them, but I needed to give Duskheart these herbs.

My mother glanced in my direction and said, "Oh yes! Come over here, Nightpaw!" When I was heading over to them, she noticed the herbs in my jaws and added, "Thank you for bringing them. I was just going to ask you or Sorreltail."

I nodded and carefully positioned the herbs in front of Duskheart. "Here, Duskheart. These are the herbs that will help you," I said. She scrunched her nose at the herbs and had a disgusted glare in her eyes. She was acting like a kit, not wanting to take her medicine. Even though you have to be kind and caring to be a medicine cat, it was frustrating because she was being unreasonable and I had a job to do.

"Don't worry, Duskheart," Ivyheart said, "it's good for you. You have to eat it for your kits." Then, Duskheart reluctantly ate the herbs, chewing them slowly.

Ivyheart purred with amusement. "How about you take a short nap?" Duskheart started to protest, but my mother gently coaxed her to her nest. Soon enough, she closed her eyes and started to snore.

My mother turned to me and said, "Let's give Duskheart space so she can relax properly." I nodded again and we padded out of the nursery and into the sunlight.

Once we were outside, she laughed and said, "New queens are just like newborn kits." I giggled at this too.

We both sat down next to each other and looked around camp. "Nightpaw, what is on your mind? You been awfully quiet lately."

That question caught me off-guard. I would've thought she would talk about other things, like prey and how being a medicine cat. But, I can't really think that. I should've expected a question like that. She is my mother, after all, and she usually knows if something is wrong.

"Well, I just feel so distanced from Dewpaw and Pinepaw…"

"Distanced? How so?"

"They're training to become warriors and I'm training to become a medicine cat. They also treat me differently. I just… I didn't expect this to happen when I was apprenticed to Sorreltail." I held back my tears. I didn't want my mother to see me that sad. It would make her cry too.

Then, I felt Ivyheart licking my cheek. "Oh, my love. It's alright. Their mindset is different than yours. When you were kits, your littermates would always beg your father to teach them battle moves. But instead of learning battle moves as well, you tried to sneak off into the medicine cat den. You even swallowed a couple poppy seeds once." She chuckled t this before continuing. "Your littermates and father have always wanted and always will be warriors. They aren't going to think that there is anything better than the life they have."

Her words made sense and, at the same time, comforted me. One of the many reasons I love my mother.

"So, don't worry, my love." She licked and rubbed my head again.

Just after that, a patrol walked into camp, escorting Flypaw, another medicine cat apprentice like me. We both locked eyes and he nodded to me.

Ivyheart turned to me and said, "Well, a medicine cat's work is never done, I guess." When she said this, she turned around and walked away.

After my mother left, I walked up to Flypaw. "Hello, Flypaw." I nodded my head in greetings to him. "What brings you to ShadowClan?"

"Greetings to you too, Nightpaw. I came here to exchange herbs." I then glanced down and saw the herbs at his feet, a bundle containing lavender, marigold, and watermint.

"Alright then, come with me." After I said that to him, I led him into the medicine cat den. Inside, I quickly found Sorreltail sorting through herbs, putting them into neat, separate piles.

"Excuse me, Sorreltail?" I asked quietly. I didn't like to disturb people, really. She looked over at us and spotted Flypaw. "Ah, Flypaw, is it?" He nodded while she said this. "What brings you here?"

"Hello, Sorreltail. Lightningeyes sent me here to trade herbs," Flypaw responded, nudging the herbs in Sorreltail's direction.

"Of course! What does Lightningeyes need that is so urgent?" While saying this, she went back to the herbs piles to look for what Flypaw needed.

"Catmint." He said it so simply in only one word. Catmint couldn't cure deathcough, but it had somewhat. It was the most precious medicine we have currently.

"Please. Leaf-fall is coming soon and we fear that the kits with get greencough or worse. Please, we don't have any in our territory." I could see the fear in his eyes as he pleaded with us. RiverClan desperately needed those herbs. Then, a terrifying thought crossed my mind. What if the kits were starting to get sick? And if that happened, then the kits could get deathcough.

"Sorreltail, can't we lend at least a few leaves?" I knew I shouldn't have asked that, it wasn't my place. But, I couldn't bear to think that innocent kits are suffering.

Sorreltail turned to me and said, "You're right, Nightpaw. I'm sure we can spare a few." She grabbed some leaves of catmint between her jaws. She dropped the herbs next to Flypaw and took a couple leaves of watermint and some marigold.

"Thank you so much. RiverClan is in your debt." Flypaw said gratefully.

"It is alright. It doesn't matter that much. Take care and say hello to Lightningeyes for me." Then Flypaw left the den and I presume that he was escorted out of the territory with one of our patrols.

"Look, I'm sorry, Sorreltail. But what if a kit was sick or worse? What if-" I was frantically speaking, trying to apologize to her, when she cut me off mid-sentence.

"It's ok, Nightpaw, it's ok. It's good that you did that. When you're a medicine cat, everyday is like being in the battlefield. You have to make decisions. You have to be kind and strong at times. That is the most important thing of being a medicine cat." To my surprise, and my relief, she wasn't mad.

"Come on, let's continue to sort these herbs. The gathering is soon, and I don't want to do a lot of work on that day." After she said that, we worked with the herbs and the day flew by without another incident.

 _ **Hello again everyone. I apologize for the inconvenience. A lot was going on in my life and because of that, I had no time to write. Hopefully, I will be able to update regularly and follow my schedule again. Also, thank you**_ **LilacKitten** _**for reviewing! Though I cannot reveal any information, I will say that it will be disclosed in a later chapter, so continue to read!**_

 **-Moon**


	10. The Gathering

The days flew right before my eyes. Luckily, nothing memorable happened and no one died. Thank StarClan. But, a kit did come in once because he had a thorn stuck in his pad. We got it out quickly and other than that, nothing significant happened. Same old duties, which I quite happy for.

But soon came my very first Gathering. My littermates and I were excited to finally go. Even though it was just a meeting between clan leaders, it's still exciting to go to your first Gathering. It's when you officially become an apprentice in all of the clans' eyes.

"Nightpaw? Hey, you alright?" Pinepaw's voice shook me out of my thoughts when we were crossing RiverClan's territory. Luckily, we were all chosen to go, even though new apprentices usually go anyway.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just daydreaming a little," I said in reply.

Pinepaw was about to respond, but he was cut off because of Dewpaw. "Hey! I'll race you to the treebridge!" As soon as she said, both Pinepaw and Dewpaw started running ahead of the other cats. Another good thing about Gatherings is that it can even make cats like Dewpaw relax.

"Those two." I turned around and saw my mother, Ivyheart. She was also coming to the Gathering with my siblings and me. She chuckled when she saw Dewpaw and Pinepaw racing each other.

Ivyheart giggled and said, "You must be excited to go to your first Gathering."

"Yeah, I am. But, I'm nervous at the same time. I've never done to one." Usually, it would be strange for someone as shy as me to talk so much, but so many things have been happening lately that I needed to talk to someone. Becoming a medicine cat apprentice, how my littermates treat me differently, Rainstorm dying, the strange dream I had. It just overwhelmed me. So, usually I just chat with Ivyheart and Sorreltail.

"Don't worry about it. You'll be fine." She looked off into the distance and I followed her gaze. Our clan was already at the tree-bridge, a fallen tree making a path to the island where the Gatherings take place.

"I should go find Pinepaw and Dewpaw. Besides, you also need to find your mentor and meet with the other medicine cats." And with that, we weaved her way in between the cats to find my siblings while I looked around for Sorreltail.

Soon, I found her just as I was about to walk across the uprooted tree. She followed behind me as we filed in a straight line to cross. It was slippery and I had a hard time walking on the tree, but I didn't want anyone to help me nor did I want some cat and myself to get wet. I needed to do this myself. I'm strong and I don't need anybody to help me.

Suddenly, I was surrounded by cats of all different sizes talking loudly to each other. I wasn't used to this much excitement, but I guess there is always a reason to celebrate if the cat you meet at the Gathering is still alive.

I spotted the other medicine cats across the clearing, discussing with one another. I felt Sorreltail's presence beside me as we walked over to the other cats.

While the medicine cats were still conversing with each other, I looked around. Most cats had smiles on their faces. It seems that friendships run deep in the clans.

I was so lost in thought that I didn't hear Darkpaw come up behind me. I nearly jumped out of my own fur when I heard he greeted me. "Nice night for a Gathering, isn't it?" he said, looking at me curiously.

"It is," I replied, feeling a little sheepish. I need to stop thinking so much and work on my conversation skills.

"So, any updates on that dream?" I asked him, and I immediately regretted it. Medicine cats weren't supposed to talk to anyone about their dreams, only their mentors, apprentices, or leaders.

He sighed and said, "No. I know it means something, but I can't figure it out. Mudfang is more cranky than usual, meaning I can't talk about it with him. What about you?"

"I'm no farther than you. It just seems like a constant flood of random words and images." He nodded in agreement as I said that. "Can we even talk about this?"

"I mean, we're both medicine cats, right? It's not like we are going to use this information for our own personal gain."

"You're right on that." I looked to my left and saw that the others were still talking to each other. Then, I glanced to my right and saw that the Gathering hasn't started yet. I turned back to Darkpaw and said, "They're still talking to each other and the Gathering hasn't started yet. We still have time to talk." I lowered my voice when I talked, not wanting anyone to overhear us.

He also glimpsed around and said, "Alright. Maybe, if we work together we can solve the dreams faster."

"Yeah." I cleared my throat and took a couple of deep breaths. "I dreamt of a cat I once knew, who died of Deathcough. She showed me these images of cats falling and dying, but no one hurt them. Then, a terrible band of cats attacked the remaining cats who were still alive. A cat ran and then the cats who were attacking disappeared out of thin air. And everyone looked happy." My throat swelled shut a little. The dream was horrible. There was so much death, yet I was powerless to stop it.

"That is a strange dream." Darkpaw finally spoke up. I guess he could also feel some tension between us.

"What did you dream about?" I looked up into his green eyes and asked.

He sighed and didn't speak for a moment. When he did, he only said it simply in a few words. "A ring of fire."

Before I could say anything, someone yelled, "Let the Gathering commence!" I looked up at the leaders and saw that a huge white tom yowled that. I heard from some cats in my clan that he is Icestar, leader of RiverClan.

The large tom cleared his throat and said, "I will start. RiverClan has been well. It seems that StarClan has blessed us with fresh prey and health, although Blossompelt is now with StarClan." A few cats around us grumbled and I couldn't tell what clan they were from.

Blazestar stepped forward on the large branch he was on and said, "ShadowClan has been well, though we lost Rainstorm to deathcough." I felt a dull pain in my heart when I heard that. "But, we have three new apprentices; Dewpaw, Pinepaw, and Nightpaw." Cats cheered around me, especially the ShadowClan cats, who were ecstatic.

Blazestar stepped back a little, just enough to give Lightstar the attention of the clans. She rose up and said, "ThunderClan has been well fed. However, both Lionpaw and Flamefur have died." She sat down and licked her chest fur.

Then, I looked at the last leader, Swiftstar, the leader of WindClan. He looked around at the cats who were in the clearing. It seemed forever until he cleared his throat and said, "Cats of the clans, I have news. There are prey-stealers among you." Immediately after he said that, cats around us started whispering to each other.

I glanced at Darkpaw, who was looking at the chaos too. "What is he talking about?" I asked, leaning toward him.

"Cats have been stealing prey from us for the last moon. We don't know who, but some of the senior cats and Swiftstar have been speculating one of the clans. Sadly, I don't know who. Most of the cats in my clan don't know, including me." He looked a little worried when he responded to my question. I looked around and saw cats staring back at the leaders, waiting for a response.

"ThunderClan has been stealing our prey!" Swiftstar shouted at the cats, malice in his eyes. Cats started to argue with one another, and Lightstar looked horrified as she stared at Swiftstar.

"What?! How dare you say that! Do you even have any proof?" She asked, her fur ruffed up.

"I have plenty. Our prey was near _your_ border, not anywhere else. And besides, you been strutting around, like you own the clans. I see the stereotype of ThunderClan cats being snobby is still alive and well," he said, sneering at her. Cats started arguing louder and both the leaders were yelling at each other.

"Quiet!" A tom shouted near me. I turned around and saw that Mudfang was the one who yelled at the cats. He looked quite angry. I guess Darkpaw wasn't kidding about him getting irritated easily.

"Please stop fighting, all of you!" yelled Willowpelt, one of the medicine cats of ThunderClan. "What good will it do for us? Many of us have died and now you're all arguing like kits." She threw a cold glare towards Lightstar and Swiftstar. Both the leaders grew hot with shame by being scolded by the medicine cat.

"She is right." A new, unfamiliar voice perked up, and I realized that it was near me. I looked around and saw that Flypaw, the medicine cat apprentice of RiverClan, was the one who spoke up. It was strange because I never heard him speak before. He seemed cold and reserved when I glanced at him. It was almost scary-like, so I looked away before he noticed me staring.

Blazestar cleared his throat and said, "It seems like our medicine cats have spoken. Are we to reject their words of wisdom?" Icestar and him looked at the other two leaders as they shook their heads no.

Icestar looked up at the sky and saw that clouds were starting to cover up the moon. He said, "Since you two, especially Swiftstar, started the argument, StarClan calls an end to the meeting. Let us return to our own clans." As he said this, Icestar jumped down from the great oak tree and was regrouping his clan. The other leaders followed his actions.

Darkpaw turned to me, "I'll see you later." Then, he went towards Swiftstar and the group of WindClan cats.

I looked around and saw that my leader was already heading towards the group of ShadowClan cats who have came. I followed her to my clan and eventually found my mother.

"Is this like every Gathering?" I asked, curiously.

"No, except for the leaders," she responded, and we both smiled at her comment.

 **Hello everybody reading this story. I apologize for my lack of content during these last few months. My life has been pretty hectic lately. I got sick twice and I recently dislocated my knee, so you can imagine how it messes up my schedule. But, I am back! And I also have developed a strategy that could help me with writing and uploading on time. Hopefully, this will prevent me from procrastinating and help me develop a habit of this.**

 **Now, onto the reviews! To Dede, yes Nightpaw will be the narrator for the whole story, unless I decide to make mini-chapter that is related to the main plot or just something extra. To LilacKitten, I thank you for your kind review and for reading my story!**

 **Okay, this is the last thing, I promise. I just have a simple question to ask all of you. Who is your favorite sibling so far: Nightpaw, Pinepaw, or Dewpaw?**

 **Anyways, thank you for reading and have a good day.**

 **-Moon**


	11. Cold Eyes

The sun shined on my fur as it peeked through the number of trees. Sorreltail was finally showing me the territory. She promised me that after the Gathering, she would take me to explore ShadowClan land. But, even if we didn't go, I was fine with waiting and organizing herbs. Still, it would be nice to go out to find herbs we were low on without getting lost in the process.

I glanced to my left and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pinepaw chasing the leaves that have fallen from the trees. I stifled a purr at this sight. My mentor and I decided to go with Pinepaw and his mentor, Maplestripe, while they practiced Pinepaw's hunting.

"No, you can't let your tail sway when you hunting prey. They will hear it and run away." Maplestripe's raucous voice woke me from my daydreaming. She earned the reputation of being fun and exciting one moment, then harsh and cold the next. She would be the cat representation if Dewpaw and Pinepaw suddenly combined into one.

"Yeah, but I'm chasing leaves not lizards," Pinepaw said, smiling wide. I quietly giggled at this until Maplestripe's cold gaze cut me off. At least Pinepaw was still the joking brother I know and love.

She sighed in defeat and looked at Sorreltail, who was looking for herbs in the bushes nearby. "Why couldn't I have gotten your apprentice?"

Sorreltail softly laughed at her question. "I don't think Nightpaw would be a good fit for hunting and fighting. You'll be crushing her dreams; she always wanted to be a medicine cat," she responded.

Maplestripe also laughed at her response. "Besides, can you imagine _Pinepaw_ as a medicine cat?" She smirked at this.

Pinepaw stopped chasing leaves once he overheard their conversation. "Please, I would heal you all from deathcough." He puffed out his chest and started to strut around.

" _Please_ , you would poison the whole clan." Maplestripe flicked her tail at him. I was at ease once again. It seems the fun side of her has emerged.

She looked up at the sun and I did too. The sun was almost in the center of the sky. Almost sunhigh. "We better keep moving if we want to explore and make it make before sunset," she said as we continued our journey through the territory.

We got back to camp just in time. The sun was more than halfway down the sky when we arrived back. Even though we didn't have enough time to look around, it was nice to get out once in awhile. Now, I'm out in the forest again. Sorreltail forgot that we were out of horsetail and needed the herb fresh. So, I'm out here in the middle of a swamp, looking for the herb we need.

Suddenly, I felt a cold presence wash over me. I frantically searched all around me, looking for the strange presence. I heard a screech and immediately jumped back in fear. I look up at the source of the noise, an old tree branch, and I was met with the cool, yellow eyes of an owl. I calmed down a little. It's just an owl, Nightpaw, nothing to worry about. But that doesn't stop me from worrying, especially when I can feel another pair of eyes on me.

I quickly find the herb, and I ran back to camp. I slowed down once I reached the entrance. The last thing I wanted to do was cause a commotion and have to admit my embarrassing mistake.

When I entered the camp, I found my mother, Ivyheart, exiting the medicine den. Strange, she didn't seem sick when I last talked to her, which was only a day ago. She even had a smile on her face.

I decided to investigate what was going on with her I approached her while he was staring off into the distance. "So, what's wrong?" I asked in curiosity.

She flinched, but she look relieved once she realized that it was me talking to her. "Oh, Nightpaw, you scared me! I didn't see you coming," she said.

"Sorry…" I mumbled, flattening my ears.

"No, no, it's fine, really. If anyone one is to blame, it should be me for not paying attention." She smiled at me.

I gave her a half-hearted smile back. "I saw you coming out of the medicine cat den. Is everything alright?" I asked again.

"No, everything is quite alright. Better, even. It seems that StarClan has granted me with another litter of kits." Then I finally realize that my mother is having kits. Again.

"That's wonderful." I smiled at her. It's good that something is happening to her.

"It is. Well, you must be getting back to your mentor, so I won't take up your time any longer." She left with a huge grin on her face. I looked behind me and saw Sorreltail staring after my mother.

"Is something wrong?" I asked. I was confused to why she was staring at Ivyheart like that.

"No, it's nothing. But… I just have this strange feeling…" She trailed off as she looked up at the sky. "Something bad is coming, I can feel it in the air."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, curiously. It sounded strange to me; usually, she would be telling good news to me. Besides, what could be worse than deathcough?

"It's… It's nothing, really. Come, we still have work to do." She glanced at the sky for a final time and turned away from me while walking to the medicine cat den.

Before I entered the medicine cat, I looked up at the sky too. The sky was clear, except for one discrepancy. One of the clouds, which were normally fluffy and white, was darker than the rest were. It was a little eerie to see such an irregularity.

I was inspecting this strange cloud when I felt a cold glare on my fur. It was like the one I felt in the woods, but this one felt… warmer. I spun around to catch who was looking at me and I nearly jumped out of my fur. I shook my head for a final time today and entered the medicine cat den.

There's a reason I was so frightened to what I thought I saw. It was impossible for something like that to happen, but deathcough should also be impossible. Maybe StarClan was sending me a message, but I could never tell.

Because what I thought I saw… was Rainstorm.

 **I am finally done with this chapter. I know it was a while since I've uploaded but it couldn't have been** _ **that**_ **long. … I just looked… The last time I published was more than a month ago. I really need to keep a consistent schedule. Anyways, thanks for reading!**

 **\- Moon**


	12. Stories and Lies

It has been three months since I felt those cold gazes and I've still been on edge. I would jump if someone snuck up behind me. I played it off that I was off guard when they surprised me, but I really jumped because someone was watching me. I came to a conclusion that those two glares weren't the same cat, which didn't help to know that there was two cats watching me. But I could at least make some sense of it.

Other than that, three cats in our clan have died from the dreaded deathcough. Wolfspots, Owlfur, and Sandkit. Sandkit's death was hard on me; he was just a kit, no younger than I was. Sorreltail gave me advice to keep me from continuing to mourn their deaths: "We must always remember them, of course. But remind yourselves that they want their clan to keep moving forward, including us."

"How can I keep moving forward if we keep seeing death at every turn?" I asked her after she spoke.

"Remember that you still have many cats to take care of. They would want you to continue healing your clan. And to remember that for every bad thing, there is always good coming." I still have no idea how she can stay so positive in the midst of death.

But her words were burned in the back of my skull. And it turned out to be true. Duskheart and Mudskip are now the parents of a handsome son named Greykit. Even though he had a twisted foot, he already showed so much energy and was a handful for the two new parents. But they still loved him.

Also, Ravenkit and Mousekit, kits of Hawkwing and newly deceased Wolfspots, became apprentices to Goosenose and Shadepelt. Maplestripe, whose mate was Redpelt, became a queen. But it was clear that she never wanted to have any kits, let alone become a queen. She already had an apprentice, my brother, who was given to Shadepelt. However, Good was coming to ShadowClan.

Speaking of my brother, Pinepaw trotted towards me. "So, how are you today?" This seemed suspicious to me. Pinepaw never acted so polite to me before. He also was smiling wide.

"What are you up to, Pinepaw?" He flinched when I didn't respond to his question. Seems like I was right.

"Wh-what are you talking about?"

"Pinepaw." I wasn't going to beat around the bush like he was.

"Oh, alright. You got me." He smiled sheepishly at me. "Look, I need you to tell a certain group of new apprentices something."

"What is it?" I was curious to what he needed me to tell Ravenpaw and Mousepaw.

"How Goosenose was a ShadowClan spy and how he can read minds…"

"Pinepaw, I'm not going to tell them such lies!" I was more than a bit embarrassed to be his littermate right now. "Besides, why don't you just tell them that yourself?"

"Well, I kinda told them that medicine cats know every cat's secret…"

"Wha- why?"

"You know, so that they could act all weird around you guys. It's really funny how they think you're gonna tell the clan, so they have to do special things for you guys." I should've know that Pinepaw was the reason those two bring fresh-kill to us and fetch us herbs.

"You could also ask Dewpaw…"

"You know how she acts. Besides, I already did, and she told me she was disgusted with me."

"I can see how she thinks that way…"

"But- please, Nightpaw, just this _one_ time?" He asked me with huge eyes and a pleading look on his face.

I sighed heavily and responded, "Ok, but just this one time." He yelled yes and started jumping around for a little.

"Thanks, I owe you one!" He looked around and spotted the two sisters chatting with each other. "Here, here, follow me." He started walking towards them, so I had no choice but to follow him.

The two sisters turned their heads and saw us coming towards them, especially me. They somewhat looked frightened to see me, but they flattened their fur and smile at us. "Oh, hello Pinepaw, Nightpaw." Mousepaw said and they both bowed their heads at me.

"Hello, Mousepaw, Ravenpaw. We came here because _Nightpaw_ had something to tell you guys." Their eyes widened. They were clearly afraid that I was going to reveal some terrible secret to the clan or blackmail them.

"Well, I recently found out that Goosenose was a ShadowClan spy living in RiverClan. And guess what else?" I did this for effect since they were hooked into my, or should I say Pinepaw's, lie.

"He can read minds…" They started clamoring immediately.

"What! But he's my mentor!" Ravenpaw exclaimed.

"Yes. He asked for an apprentice to make sure apprentices were focused on training." It hurt to add on to this terrible lie, but I had to act accordingly.

They glanced at each other with a knowing look. "This explains _so_ much!" Mousepaw said and turned to me. "Thank you so much for telling us this..." She shuffled her paws before continuing. "Um, also, about what you know about us…"

"Don't worry, your secrets are safe with me." I winked at them for more effect.

"Thanks, Nightpaw!" Ravenpaw shouted as they walked away in deep conversation.

"Oh my StarClan… Did you see their faces! It was hilarious!" He was snickering from me tricking the poor apprentices.

"It wasn't to me…" I murmured under my breath. I hated lying to people; it never seemed right with me.

For the next day, the two apprentices treaded lightly around Pinepaw, Sorreltail, Goosenose, and me. It was sad that they could be so easily tricked into such a horrible lie. It had become a rumor that the two apprentices fetched prey for some cats and did certain things, like listen to their mentors or trained more. Of course, they didn't know what Pinepaw and I did.

One day, Sorreltail told me to go out of camp to gather some comfrey. Luckily, there was a patrol already heading out of camp, so I decided to join them for the time being.

"Glad you can join us," Sunfur said, who was the leader of the border patrol. As we went out of camp, I kept watched of the herb I was supposed to collect.

"Have you noticed anything strange with my apprentice?" I slightly jumped when I realized Goosenose was right beside me. I didn't even notice him as part of the patrol. "Actually, both the sisters. I was hoping that you might have any idea since they keep fetching you and Sorreltail herbs."

I sighed; I decided that it would be best to tell him the truth. I didn't want to lie to someone else. "Yeah, I do. Pinepaw's been giving them lies about you and me… apparently."

"What do you mean by that?" He asked curiously.

"Pinepaw told them that medicine cats know every cat's secret… And then I told them, well Pinepaw told me to, that you can read minds and was a ShadowClan spy… That's why you left RiverClan..." I felt ashamed to be a part of that lie. I thought that he would scold me and humiliate me infront of the others, but he laughed instead.

"Ha ha, my apprentice has always been gullible. And the stories Pinepaw comes up with… Well, thank you for telling me this." He was smiling at me.

"Um, Goosenose, if I'm not overstepping… I was just wondering… Why did you leave RiverClan?" He turned his head away from me and had a grave expression on him.

"Oh, I'm sorr- You don't have to-" He cut me off. "No, it's quite alright. I mean, it isn't some big secret, so why not?"

He took a breath before continuing. "You see, I had this beautiful sister named Swanfeather. She was amazing in every way and also outshined me in every way. But I still loved her." I knew what that felt like. Pinepaw and Dewpaw were always out there, always better than me. But I wished for no evil to cross their paths.

"And then, one day, it all changed. She was out on a hunting patrol and I was in camp, when I heard the news that she drowned in the river. It was heartbreaking, but it affected my mother the most. It broke her to pieces. I was scared of the river when I was a kit, still was when I was a warrior in RiverClan. However, I couldn't take it near it; I was frightened by it. My mother eventually died of sickness, not deathcough.

"I felt like a stranger in my own clan. I didn't want anything to do with the river, so I couldn't help my clan. I had a friend in ShadowClan, who said that if I didn't feel comfortable with my clan anymore, then ShadowClan would be happy to take me. Her name was Rainstorm." Rainstorm. Why do I keep hearing that name?

"She died from deathcough, didn't she?" He sighed, like he was weary and tired. "Why does death follow me wherever I go?"

"Maybe that's just how to world works…" He glanced at me and we both gazed at each other with a knowing-look.

"I guess you're right…" He chuckled, "Seems we're both alike then we realize, right?"

I was just about to agree with him, when out of nowhere, Badgerpaw erupted from the forest. "Badgerpaw, what is it?" Sunfur asked him.

He panted and said, "I need Nightpaw. Sorreltail needs her." No. Not another cat struck with that vicious disease. I looked at Goosenose one last time and followed Badgerpaw back to camp. "What happened? Is another cat sick?"

"No, Sorreltail needs your help. Ivyheart is kitting and it looks bad." And that is when I ran at full speed.


End file.
